


crying is better with friends

by tuberc-leo-fics (lourthor)



Category: VIXX
Genre: Crying, Friendship, Gen, OT6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lourthor/pseuds/tuberc-leo-fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taekwoon enjoys watching sad dramas. Somehow, it becomes a group activity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	crying is better with friends

**Author's Note:**

> This does contain spoilers for the Japanese drama Never Let Me Go (as well as the book by Kazuo Ishiguro). If you do not wish to be spoiled, please skip this story.

Taekwoon didn’t have a crush on him. He really didn’t, but something about the way Haruma Miura acted, the way his body and emotions were portrayed over the screen really affected him. He first saw him acting in some movie he saw with his friends before he debuted, and was quite taken with him. Taekwoon really did not have a crush on him, but when they started really studying Japanese, he was the first person Taekwoon thought of. Taekwoon quickly devoured the movies he starred in, and moved on to the dramas.

 

Taekwoon also might have a problem with Japanese dramas. He convinced himself that watching them was to improve his Japanese, to learn how it sounds when native speakers interact, but whenever he had free time and wasn’t in his studio, he was at home watching dramas. And not just any dramas, but depressing love stories that made you cry.

 

Because Taekwoon definitely did not have a crush on Haruma Miura, and he did not have a problem with depressing Japanese dramas, it only made sense to watch The Hours of My Life, which was a good combination of both. The series was only 11 episodes, but with how busy Vixx was and how much Taekwoon needed his sleep when they did have time, it took him three weeks to finish. He finished the final episode at 1:30 in the morning and was sobbing, his nose stuffed up, making it difficult to breathe. It took several minutes for him to calm down, and he wiped at his eyes roughly with the cuff of his sleeve, trying to dry his cheeks enough to not look like his life had just ended.

 

Taking a deep breath, Taekwoon stepped out of his room, blinking slightly at the light that was on in the hallway, meaning someone was still up. He walked over to the bathroom, passing several rooms and was almost to the bathroom when Hakyeon stepped out of it, shaking out his slightly damp hands. Hakyeon stopped abruptly, the slight smile that was on his face dropping when he noticed the state of Taekwoon’s face, slightly blotchy and puffy, evidence that he was crying very prominent.

 

“Taekwoon, are you alright?” Hakyeon asked as he stepped quickly over to Taekwoon, putting an arm around his waist in an attempt to comfort him. Taekwoon knew what Hakyeon must be thinking, that he was having a crisis or something bad had happened in his family.

 

“It’s fine, Hakyeon,” Taekwoon said, stepping out of the half hug and walking to the bathroom, but he was stopped when Hakyeon grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the living room. Taekwoon sighed, wishing that he could get out of the situation, but not telling Hakyeon would only make the leader worry even more, and Taekwoon couldn’t do that to him; Hakyeon already had enough to worry about.

 

As they sat down on the couch, Taekwoon noted the worried lines on Hakyeon’s face, the way his forehead crinkled slightly and his eyebrows lowered in the corner, his lips turned down. He didn’t mean to do this to him.

 

“I’m really okay, Hakyeon, I just watched something sad. You don’t need to worry about me.”

 

Hakyeon rolled his eyes, still frowning. “You know I can’t do that, Taekwoon. I worry about all of you all the time.”

 

Taekwoon sighed. He knew all about Hakyeon’s worries, always feeling like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, or at least felt like he was piggy-backing Hyuk, only showing the strain of his responsibilities when he was back in the dorm. Taekwoon hated to see Hakyeon like this, and hated it even more that he was the one to put him in this state.

 

“Hakyeon, seriously, I was just watching a sad drama,” Taekwoon said, reaching a hand out and dragging his fingers down Hakyeon’s bicep in an attempt to comfort him. “It was about someone with ALS and the last episode was really sad. I’m fine.”

 

Hakyeon blinked a few times as he registered what Taekwoon was saying, before raising an eyebrow at him. “Why were you watching something like that this late? Your eyes will be puffy tomorrow morning.”

 

Taekwoon just shrugged. “I like those kinds of stories. They’re nice to watch when we’re resting. I don’t like watching people live out their dramatic lives on screen because the kind of lives they are living just… isn’t me.”

 

Hakyeon gave him a small smile. He knew what Taekwoon thought of pointless relationship drama and people arguing for no reason; he was about as non-confrontational as possible.

 

“Still, you shouldn’t be watching these things on your own,” Hakyeon said. “Depressing shows always need to be watched with friends, otherwise it messes with your head.”

 

Taekwoon rolled his eyes. “That’s really not true. I watch those things all the time.”

 

“And look how you turned out,” Hakyeon muttered under his breath. “Kidding,” he said immediately after, regretting his half-joke. “But seriously, watching these things alone at night cannot be healthy. Next time, tell me and I’ll watch with you.”

 

Taekwoon blinked several times before nodding slowly.

 

“Okay.”

 

\--

 

Taekwoon decided to watch Never Let Me Go next. His reasoning had nothing to do with the fact Haruma Miura was in it and more to do with the fact that it was a new drama that he heard was good, and would be good language practice. At least, that’s what he told himself.

 

As he was settling onto his bed, laptop resting on his legs and his headphones plugged in, Hakyeon walked into the room without even bothering to knock, somehow sensing that Taekwoon was about to go back on their promise they had made a week earlier.

 

“So, Taekwoon,” Hakyeon said as he sat down on the bed, pushing at Taekwoon’s hip until he scooted over, making room for his friend. “What are you watching?”

 

Taekwoon sighed and took out an earbud, banging his head against the wall slightly. “I haven’t even started anything yet.”

 

“That’s because you were about to call me, right?” Hakyeon asked, taking the earbud Taekwoon had dropped and putting it in his own ear. Taekwoon sighed again, but didn’t do anything to make Hakyeon go away. Instead he just pressed play.

 

Within the first thirty seconds of the episode, someone was cut open and their organs shown. Both Hakyeon and Taekwoon winced, Hakyeon averting his gaze and staring at the wall instead. Taekwoon squeezed his arm when all of the gross imagery had gone away.

 

“Why are we watching this anyway, Taekwoon?” Hakyeon asked. “You know I hate this kind of medical stuff.”

 

Taekwoon just shrugged, avoiding Hakyeon’s eyes as he pointed to the screen where a man lay on a hospital bed, an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. Hakyeon had no idea how to respond to that, so he just turned back to the tiny screen and watched the episode.

 

“You know,” Hakyeon said halfway through the episode, reaching a hand up to card his fingers through the hair at the base of Taekwoon’s skull, “you remind me of Tomo. You’re good at soccer, bad at drawing, and tend to rage when things aren’t going well. When Tomo stomps his feet and yells out in anger, it’s really cute and all I can see is a little Taekwoon.”

 

Taekwoon rolled his eyes and turned toward Hakyeon slightly, pressing his head back against Hakyeon’s fingers. “He reminds me of when I was a kid. I wasn’t bullied or anything like that, but I didn’t really know how to vent my anger, and I was a little obsessed with soccer.”

 

They were quiet for a little longer, soaking in the episode, trying to understand as much Japanese as possible without reading the subtitles. Hakyeon was doing a lot better than Taekwoon on that account.

 

“You’re Kyoko,” Taekwoon said quietly, several minutes after Hakyeon’s interruption. Hakyeon hummed lowly, not registering what Taekwoon said for a couple of seconds before he elbowed him in the side.

 

“Ow,” Taekwoon said, glaring at him.

 

“Why am I the girl?” Hakyeon asked, pouting slightly. “Is it because I’m so cute?”

 

Taekwoon rolled his eyes, ignoring Hakyeon’s statement. “It’s because you stick up for what’s right and make friends with the people no one else approaches. Plus, she’s kind, but now I’m starting to re-think that part of your character.”

 

“Nope, I’ll take it,” Hakyeon said softly.

 

When the episode had finished the two sat quietly for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet presence of the other after a stressful day.

 

“I’ve read the book, you know,” Hakyeon said suddenly, surprising Taekwoon out of his stupor. “Never Let Me Go. I’ve read it. It’s been awhile, but I remember enough of the story to know I’ll be crying at some point during this drama. Was that your intention?”

 

Taekwoon shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, but having known each other for so long, Hakyeon could interpret what Taekwoon was trying to convey.

 

“A different reason?” Hakyeon asked, mostly to his self, not even looking at Taekwoon as he thought. “The actor? The one you have a crush on?”

 

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Taekwoon said loudly, pushing his shoulder against Hakyeon’s. “I just admire him. He’s a very good actor and always brings something special to the dramas he’s in. I really don’t have a crush on him,” he repeated when he noticed Hakyeon trying to hide a smile by hiding his lips and opening his eyes wider.

 

“Okay,” Hakyeon said simply, agreeing with him in words even though Taekwoon could tell he didn’t actually believe him. “Well this was fun, but we should sleep, Taekwoon-ie,” Hakyeon said as he stood up from the bed. “Don’t watch without me, okay?”

 

Taekwoon nodded and watched Hakyeon walk out his door with a wave before he sighed and started to get ready for bed.

 

\--

 

By the time they had gotten to the last episode, they had grown tired of watching the drama on a small screen and had migrated their party to the living room with the big TV. Somehow, in the transition from one room to the other and a span of three weeks, there were now six people watching the drama. Or, pretending to do anything but watch the drama. Yet somehow, every time Taekwoon and Hakyeon decided to watch an episode, that was the time the other members wanted to hang out and chat in the living room.

 

“Be quiet,” Taekwoon said for the third time in ten minutes, scowling at the members who were chatting lightly, but just enough to disrupt the drama. He was used to it by now, as Jaehwan constantly talked during movies or TV shows, but it was more difficult than normal to concentrate on what was happening on screen because it was in a different language.

 

“But Taekwoonie-hyung, we just want to spend some quality time chatting together, and we can’t do that when you and Hakyeon-hyung are watching this show. Don’t you love us?” Jaehwan asked, pouting out his lips in an attempt to appeal himself more to the elder boys. But Taekwoon just frowned at him, putting a finger to his lips to make him be quiet. In a surprising turn of events, Sanghyuk did the same.

 

There was a blissful eight minutes of silence except for what was playing on the screen, but the quiet was once again interrupted, this time by a quiet sniffling.

 

“Are you crying?” Hongbin asked, half laughing as he stared at Wonshik whose entire face was screwed up in an attempt to keep the tears inside his eyes and the noise of his crying to a minimum.

 

“Shut up,” Wonshik just murmured, elbowing Hongbin in the side, which earned him a pinch as payback. “It’s just really sad. Why did Tomo have to die? Why is the world so cruel to him and the others? Who decided who gets to live and die in this world?”

 

“I didn’t know you were so invested,” Hakyeon finally spoke up, turning to face Wonshik. “But you are the crybaby of the team, so…” he shrugged.

 

“I don’t think you have any room to talk,” Hyuk interjected, but he quickly backed down when Hakyeon turned a glare onto him.

 

“It’s just… as kids they were put into such bad situations, you know? They had the world on their shoulders and they didn’t even know it yet. And Kyoko has had to watch her friends and classmates die, one by one, and just has to keep moving on and be strong,” Wonshik said, voice cracking slightly. “I would never be able to do that.”

 

At some point during his speech, the tears that had already gathered in Taekwoon’s eyes from Tomo’s death became almost overwhelming, and he quickly wiped them away, trying to hide the fact that he was crying from the other members. This was one of the reasons he always watched dramas in his own room, because he would inevitable cry, and he was such an ugly crier.

 

“Can we just… finish this now?” Taekwoon asked quietly, catching the attention of the other members.

 

“Were you crying too, hyung?” Hongbin asked, looking at Taekwoon’s eyes. The other members peered closer as well, trying to look for a clue that he had been crying.

 

“Shut up,” Taekwoon said, groaning. “How did it come to this anyway? I was perfectly happy watching depressing dramas in my room by myself, then all of a sudden I gained five tagalongs. We see enough of each other already.”

 

Hakyeon hit him after the last sentence. “I told you, no one should watch these things alone. These kinds of shows change you.”

 

“And for all that we joke,” Hongbin said, “I kind of grew emotionally attached to these characters. It started off as a way to bother you, but the show is kind of fascinating. I love dystopian fiction.”

 

Taekwoon glanced around the room and noticed everyone nodding and Hakyeon giving him a gentle smile, eyes shining with something he couldn’t quite understand.

 

They finished the episode, and at the end, more eyes than just Wonshik’s and Taekwoon’s were wet, but they all tried to hide it from each other.

 

Taekwoon thought that that was the last of it, once everyone went their separate ways at the end of the drama. Several days later, when he had time after a schedule, he set himself up in his room again, intent to settle in and watch a few episodes of 1 Litre of Tears before going to sleep. For some reason, there were a plethora of Japanese dramas that involved someone with a terminal illness, and Taekwoon was keen to watch them all.

 

The moment he pressed play, Jaehwan wandered into his room without knocking and took a quick glance at Taekwoon, noticed the earbuds in his ears and the slightly wide eyes and screwed up his face slightly.

 

“You’re not watching porn right now, are you?” he asked, body relaxing when Taekwoon shook his head and turned his laptop around, showing him the screen. “Hey, are you watching another sad drama by yourself?” Jaehwan asked, peering closer at the screen. “Everybody! Come here!” Jaehwan shouted before sitting himself on the bed next to Taekwoon, earning himself a half-hearted shoulder push.

 

Somehow, the six of them ended up squished together on Taekwoon’s bed, straining themselves to read the subtitles on the screen and listen to the voices coming from the computer speakers, which were just shy of loud enough.

 

“You seriously have a problem, hyung,” Hyuk said, side-eyeing him when they were half-way through the first episode. “I can already tell even I’m going to cry at the end of this.”

 

Two weeks later, he was proved right when all 6 of them were openly crying, hugging pillows to their chest as they watched the last episode on the TV in the living room. And again three weeks later after they finished watching Summer Snow.

 

“I blame Taekwoon-hyung,” Hongbin said when he finished patting at his eyes. “Why do I get so invested in these shows? I never cry.”

 

“I didn’t cry,” Jaehwan said with a loud voice, making the others glance at him in disbelief.

 

“That’s because you’re heartless,” Hongbin remarked, earning him a slap on the arm, to which he only grinned.

 

“So,” Hakyeon said in a loud voice, clapping his hands together once to get their attention. “What’s next?”

 

Everyone turned to look at Taekwoon with a questioning glint in their eyes. He just sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, running through dramas in his head.

 

“Okay, so we have three options…”

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Leave a comment or come find me on tumblr at tuberc-leo-fics or leothevixxn.


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